I bought a BK16... now what?

What's with the BK9? When I asked everyone recommended the BK16 to start with so that's what I got.
 
If you're just getting started with bushcraft you picked a great knife. I think the 16 is as close to a "there's not much knife stuff I can't do with this" knife as there is. Use it for a while. Decide if the sheath suits your needs or not. Are the handles comfy? Would you like them to be thicker? Grippier? A different color? Does the coating annoy you, or do you kinda like it? I view all of my Beckers as works in progress. That's one of the best things about them. You're one of thousands who has a BK16, but soon you'll change a little here and a little there and then you'll be the only person with a BK16 that looks just like yours. Ethan Becker has created a line of knives that just beg you to tweek them so they're as close to perfect for you as you can get. Enjoy using your knife for a while, and it will tell you what changes you want to make.

Then buy a 9. And a 15. And a 7. Oh, and of course a 2, and a 14. And an 11.
 
IbrahimSS said:
What's with the BK9? When I asked everyone recommended the BK16 to start with so that's what I got.
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The 9 is "The King" of the BKT line. It is a SUPER CHOPPER. Regardless of whichever BK you start with, if you stick around here, you will understand that "you can't not have a 9." It's an inevitable purchase upgrade for the BeckerHeads who really like to destroy things.

The 16 is an AWESOME blade and you did right as a first purchase. It will serve all your bush-crafting needs. Use it right out of the box and then decide if you need to mod anything.
 
IbrahimSS said:
Is there anything you guys recommend I do off the bat?

Thanks
Sam
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Purchase a rib-eye (about 8-9 Oz.), some hot peppers, onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, spices, little olive corn or whatever oil, etc. Chop all of it up with your 16 and toss in cast iron skillet and cook it on a stovetop or if you are camping a gas grill or fire made with some kindling with that 16 (it's winter here so get to work). I love cilantro so I usually add a little bit of that in also. Some don't like cilantro. Cook until everything looks and smells great. Put it between some type of bread with a little sharp cheddar.

Eat.

Then go buy a 9!:)

But...you just bought one of the best blades ever!
 
Everyone has their own opinion on blade coatings. Personally, I like them and leave them on until the coating is pretty much gone, then strip the rest for an even look (the coatings on the current Beckers are pretty durable imo). The coating on the BK16 will smooth out with relatively little use, negating most slicing problems people complain about. I would at least leave it on until you have had it long enough to decide if you would rather have a bare metal blade.

As for maintenance, I don't think there are manuals on it. It's pretty simple really. Steel rusts, so keep a light coat of food grade mineral oil on the bare metal parts when you are not using it. It's about $5 for a bottle that you will never manage to use up, and most grocery stores and pharmacies carry it (it's sold as a laxative). Sharpening is something to read up on in the forums, but I personally would search youtube for demonstrations. It's an acquired skill if you don't have equipment like a Sharpmaker. If the scales loosen up, put loctite on the screws. It's basically just a sharp piece of metal; there's not much more too it than that. Oh, and don't get it too hot. Fire will change the properties of the steel.
 
Galeocerdoshark said:
Oh, and stainless hardware :)
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Ditto

Cheap and easy mod to get started. Looks classy with ss hardware. Factory stuff eventually rusts.

I'd reccomend the factory micarta and some kydex or leather sheath w/fire steel loop if you want to spend some more $$ on it. The better grip with the micarta will changes the grip on the knife and it performs better IMO.
 
If you want to add more than what the pouch has, you could always use a ranger band (wrap a cut piece of a bicycle inter tube around the sheath). +1 on the Micarta grips. However, if the grivory works for you, then they're not really necessary.
 
All of the suggestions so far are good. I was just kidding about the 9. If you need a 9, you'll know it and hit that order button. When I got mine, I thought I made a mistake. I couldn't figure out what I would do with it. Once I found a pile of wood and split it up into usable pieces I had the answer. I don't carry the 9 around with me everywhere...but most of the time I have a 16 on me or strapped to the pack.

The 16 is a great bushcraft knife but also a great all around general purpose knife. It will also baton some wood...I've done lots of that with my 16 long before I had a 9. It also does the following very well, I guess you'll have no bushcraft without bushfood. Although I purchased all of the following at the store up the road, it would be tasty prepared by a campfire and picnic table. The only note I have is cook it until it's dry enough to make a sammich out of. I was out of onion so I went without. I just throw the cheese on the skillet and top with a couple slices of bread...looks like a stripped Becker in there somewhere!!

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Thanks gents. I batoned a piece of applewood for my smoker that has been too large to use. Next up I'm going to try to do some feather sticks and shavings.
 
I think most points have already been raised but here is a pic for you to consider for your next move...

Options are:
1. Buy your BK 16 a companion, i.e. BK17
2. Polish the blade
3. Patina the blade
4. Make some handles
5. Azwelke sheath
6. Make it scary sharp
7. Strop it with autosol on leather and balsa for a super shiny edge
8. Go out and use it

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I would strip the knife because it cuts better and has a pretty decent stonewashed type finish already. Then patina it. I prefer apple cider vinegar heated up with several applications. It gets a deep dark patina and it protects really well against rust. Even under the scales. I'd also replace the factory scales with micarta. A good leather sheath and you could have bought a custom! :P
 
IbrahimSS said:
What's with the BK9? When I asked everyone recommended the BK16 to start with so that's what I got.
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The deal with the BK9 is that you need one. You can't not have a 9. If you don't have a BK9 then the terrorists win. Do it for the children. Do it for yourself. Do it for the free bear claw from the elusive and mythical doughnut shop deep in the Tennessee woods.
 
Here is my sharpening system. It's just one of many...you can spend as much money as you want on this aspect of the hobby. I started to go down the road of the high dollar stuff and decided I could buy more knives instead! These are the two Norton Combination India Stones I use. One is an 8" and the other is 11 1/2" x 2 1/2" x 1". The larger one is a little harder to find and a little more $$ but both of them represent a great value. Only use the orange side for the most part. If you go this route make sure that when you get your stone (whatever kind) that it is flat. The first 8" Norton I got was warped (best kind of word I can come up with). From end to end it was kind of shaped like a "u". It was so bad I noticed it when I took it out of the box.

This is just one way of doing it...they work fast which I like. Again just one of many ways on the cheaper end of the scale. I strop on my Wrangler/levis.


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Wow I didn't realize how large the 9 is. Where do you even use that. I'm pretty certain that's highly illegal to carry around the socialist republic of New Jersey where I reside.

Thanks for the sharpening tip. I'll surely look into those!
 
I got a BK16 a few months back, put the Peanut butter scales on it and dropped it into a custom leather sheath. The coating on mine is like sand paper and binds a bit while cutting some materials. Am thinking of stripping mine and possibly hot bluing it.

Congrats on the new knife. :)
 
I use the 9 in place of an axe. Mailnly just split larger chunks of firewood into smaller chunks or kindling. sometimes I hunt for wood out in the woods. I saw it to length and split with the 9. I'll try to get some pics up later of some of the piles of wood split solely with the 9. I'll also take a couple pics of some other items I use along with the 9 to make splitting the monsters easy.

You can also take some sandpaper, I'm guessing about 220g, 320g and smooth out that coating. It's quite thick but you can get them smooth in minutes and it will still be thick. My 9 is pretty smooth, just from use.
 
IbrahimSS said:
Wow I didn't realize how large the 9 is. Where do you even use that. I'm pretty certain that's highly illegal to carry around the socialist republic of New Jersey where I reside.
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I use it camping to do all sorts of stuff. Limb a tree to cut for firewood or maybe even chop the tree if it's small enough. On my last outing I grabbed a lot of firewood with my BK9 and also used it to rough out some cooking utensils we forgot to bring. The spatula worked out pretty good.
 
bigghoss said:
I use it camping to do all sorts of stuff. Limb a tree to cut for firewood or maybe even chop the tree if it's small enough. On my last outing I grabbed a lot of firewood with my BK9 and also used it to rough out some cooking utensils we forgot to bring. The spatula worked out pretty good.
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I think that's well beyond my bushcraft skill level at this point. Maybe one day I'll be able to work up to that.
 
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